The man accused of killing his sister and her husband in 1987 did it deliberately because he was jealous of the pair and didn’t want it known that he had sex with his sister, prosecutors told a jury Tuesday at the double murder trial of Ryan Wyngarden.Wyngarden’s defense attorney, though, said no incest occurred and the killing could have been committed by a drug-dealing motorcycle gang that mistook Rick and Gail Brink for someone else. He also said Wyngarden’s wife, who says her husband confessed, was manipulated by police into giving the statement.Six witnesses testified on Tuesday in Ottawa County Circuit Court in the first day of a trial that’s expected to last three weeks.Wyngarden, 52, of Zeeland, faces two charges of first degree premeditated murder of the couple in their home on Ransom Street in Park Township 18 months after their wedding.If found guilty, Wyngarden could be sentenced to life in prison.Testimony continues today at 9 a.m. before Judge Jon Hulsing and a jury of six women and seven men. One of jurors will be an alternate and not participate in the final deliberations.Wyngarden, wearing a blue striped shirt — the creases were still fresh — and tan pants spoke often with his attorneys and took notes during the testimony. Four uniformed deputies stood guard in the courtroom.“The murder of Rick and Gail Brink was committed with deliberation and premeditation,” said prosecuting attorney Lee Fisher in his opening remarks.Wyngarden had an argument with family members before the murder on Nov. 21 and returned to the Brink house saying he had car trouble and asked for a ride, Fisher said. Rick Brink got in his Chevy Blazer, rolled the window down and was shot twice in the head, Fisher said.The defendant then went in the house where Gail was sleeping and shot her three times, Fisher said.Wyngarden was jealous of the couple and was afraid people would discover the sexual encounter he had with Gail, according to Fisher.“He did not want people to find out about prior sexual activity he engaged in with his sister Gail,” Fisher said.Wyngarden then confessed to the killings to his then-girlfriend Pam, who married Ryan in 1989. He created an alibi for his whereabouts and Pam supported it, Fisher said. Pam kept the secret out of “fear, love and loss,” Fisher said, until she told police in January 2013.“She could not carry the burden, the knowledge, of what happened to Rick and Gail anymore,” Fisher said. “She believed it was time justice was done for Rick, Gail and their family.”Wyngarden’s attorney David Hall said Pam Wyngarden’s testimony is the “linchpin” of the case. He said she was swayed by “suggestive” police questioning that placed ideas in her mind. Since she has immunity from prosecution, “she essentially has a free pass” to say what she wants, according to Hall.It is now difficult after so many years to get a clear picture of what happened, Hall said. Some witnesses were not interviewed by police at the time of killings. Wyngarden’s alibi will stand up to scrutiny, he added.The evidence suggests two people could have committed the murders and that the prior Ransom Street property owners — one who went by the name of “Shotgun Sid” — had suspicious pasts.“He and his girlfriend were involved extensively in drug and narcotics dealing in the Holland area,” Hall said of the early house owners. The target of the killings might not have been the Rick and Gail.“This may have been a mistaken identity killing,” Hall said.Hall also said Gail, who worked at Donnelly Corp. at the time, could have been investigating a case of “financial irregularities” because a file from the company that was at the murder scene was removed before it could be investigated.“That may have been of some importance,” he said.Other witnesses on Tuesday included Rick Brink’s brother, Budd; Gail’s sister Cheryl Murphree; Don Heeringa, Trendway Corp. chairman who discovered the bodies; Gene Koopman, retired from the sheriff’s department; and Lauren Wassink, retired detective sergeant for the sheriff’s office.The testimony from the January 2013 preliminary hearing from Ida May Brink, 90, Rick’s mother, was read into the court record as well because she could not be in court.— Follow Jim Hayden on Twitter@SentinelJim.

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